Our Missouri Podcast

Welcome to Our Missouri, a podcast about the people, places, culture, and history of the 114 counties and independent city of St. Louis that comprise the great state of Missouri. Your host is SHSMO assistant director for research and lifelong Jefferson City resident Sean Rost, who earned his PhD from the University of Missouri-Columbia specializing in twentieth-century United States and Missouri history.

Engaging with subject matter experts, each episode focuses on a topic related to the state's complex history and culture, from publications about Missouri’s history to current projects undertaken by organizations to preserve and promote local institutions.  Join Rost as he explores what makes Our Missouri.

Our Missouri is free and generously provided thanks to the support of State Historical Society of Missouri members and donors. Books featured on the show are available for purchase through the SHSMO Richard Bookstore; purchases support the State Historical Society of Missouri.

New episodes are posted twice a month. You can also subscribe via Apple Podcasts and Stitcher.

 Listen on Stitcher

Region
Topics
Season

Episode 116: Onondaga Cave State Park - Tasha Gabel (Cave State, Part 3)

In this episode, Sean Rost talks with Tasha Gabel, senior naturalist for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, about Onondaga Cave State Park.

Episode Image: Two teenage girls look at cave formations in Onondaga Cave, 1959 [Missouri Ruralist Photographs (P0030), SHSMO]

Banner Image: Interior view of Onondaga Cave, ca. 1945 [Mr. and Mrs. Walter Williams Photograph Collection (P0535), SHSMO]

Episode 115: Graham Cave State Park - Alice Johnson (Cave State, Part 2)

Continuing the "Cave State" series, Alice Johnson, superintendent of Graham Cave State Park and the Mid-East Section of the Katy Trail State Park, joins host Sean Rost to discuss the unique features of Graham Cave State Park.

Episode Image: Graham Cave Quilt Patch by Linda Ann Eatherton, 2021 [Missouri Bicentennial Commission Records (CA6643), SHSMO]

Banner Image: Graham Cave State Park, date unknown [Courtesy of Missouri State Parks]

Episode 114: Ozark Caverns - Guerric Good (Cave State, Part 1)

If you are from Missouri, you know at least one thing: the weather in the state is always changing. In the summer, we have record-breaking heat waves. And here’s the thing, when winter comes along, there will be days when the temperature struggles to get above zero. Traveling along the state’s roadways—maybe you are doing so right now—you may also notice billboards proclaiming the subterranean wonders of Missouri. Some of these billboards even remind you that these caves are cool on hot days and warm on cold days. It’s the best of both worlds.

Summer Series 2025: National Museum of Transportation - Coby Ellison (All Aboard, Part 5)

To conclude the 2025 Summer Series, Coby Ellison joins host Sean Rost to discuss the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis.

 

Episode Image: Wabash, Frisco and Pacific Live Stream Miniature Railroad, 1950. [Arthur Witman Collection (S0732), SHSMO]

Banner Image: Railroad Tunnel, Kirkwood, Missouri, date unknown. [SHSMO Glass Negative Collection (P0024), SHSMO]

Summer Series 2025: Union Station Kansas City - George Guastello II (All Aboard, Part 4)

Next up in the 2025 Summer Series, host Sean Rost talks with George Guastello, President and CEO of Union Station Kansas City, about one of the city's most recognizable landmarks.


Episode Image: Postcard of Union Station, Kansas City, Missouri, date unknown. [Martin Eichenlaub Postcard Collection (P0009), SHSMO]

Banner Image: Construction of Union Station, Kansas City, Missouri, 1912. [George A. Fuller Company Photograph Collection (K0080), SHSMO]

Summer Series 2025: Mob Rule in the Ozarks - Kenneth C. Barnes (All Aboard, Part 3)

Next up in the 2025 Summer Series, host Sean Rost talks with Kenneth C. Barnes about his new book, Mob Rule in the Ozarks: The Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad Strike, 1921-1923.


Episode Image: Scene on the “Devil’s Eye Brow” near Seligman, Missouri, date unknown. [John F. Bradbury, Jr. Postcard Collection (R1551), SHSMO]

Banner Image: Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad Engine 19, Joplin, Missouri, 1910. [John F. Bradbury, Jr. Postcard Collection (R1551), SHSMO]

Summer Series 2025: Louis Houck - Joel P. Rhodes (All Aboard, Part 2)

Continuing the 2025 Summer Series, we return to an earlier episode featuring Joel P. Rhodes, newly named executive director of the State Historical Society of Missouri, discussing his book, A Missouri Railroad Pioneer: The Life of Louis Houck.


Episode Image: Academic Hall, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, ca. 1908. [Missouri Postcard Collection (P0032), SHSMO]


Banner Image: Houck Depot, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, date unknown. [John F. Bradbury, Jr. Postcard Collection (R1551), SHSMO]
 

Summer Series 2025: The Durham Museum - Kyle Chattleton (All Aboard, Part 1))

Welcome to our 2025 Summer Series which is all about the history of railroads in Missouri. You know the names, the Hannibal and St. Joseph, Northern Missouri, St. Louis and Iron Mountain, Missouri and North Arkansas, Wabash, KATY, Frisco, Rock Island, Missouri Pacific, Kansas City Southern, Houck Line, BNSF, AMTRAK, and many others. From the depot, to the roundhouse, to the shops, and to the tracks, this series takes us all across Missouri and neighboring states to learn about the bygone era when train travel provided the main source of transportation for many Missourians.

Episode 113: The Volunteer State - Jennifer C. Core (State History, Part 7)

Did you know that Missouri is tied for 1st place (alongside Tennessee) as the state that borders the most states in the United States? For the second half of Season 7, Our Missouri heads out to the state line to talk with our neighbors about their history, culture, and historical organizations. 

Next up in the State History series, Jennifer C. Core, executive director of the Tennessee Historical Society, joins host Sean Rost to discuss the Volunteer State.